How do they use their phones?
Women use their phones to stay connected, manage financial transactions, consume entertainment, express themselves, and access information for everyday needs. Patterns of use are shaped by relevance, familiarity, and the constraints of their social and material contexts.
Mobile Ownership (DHS-8 2024)
100%Smartphone Ownership
42%Uses Mobile for Financial Transactions
32%
Reach and Connection
Use is primarily for personal communication. Uses WhatsApp to send and receive voice notes with known contacts, with limited use beyond this.
Entertainment and Stress Relief
Entertainment is primarily offline, centred on media shared via Xender/Bluetooth, including audio and video, and reading material for those able to read (likely in Arabic). Usage could include offline apps such as cooking apps, games, or basic photo filters, with engagement oriented toward consumption rather than posting or active social participation.
Learning and Growth
Primarily learns passively and with offline means such as data-less apps or radio. At times may join closed WhatsApp group on topics such as childcare or nutrition when invited by known contacts.
Transactions and Financial Security
May occasionally use USSD for transactions, but lacks access to app-based financial services.
Self Promotion and Expression
Limited or no engagement in self-promotion or expression.
Tracking
Does not engage in health or financial tracking.
How do they get access to their phones?
Access to phones is often mediated through family and social networks, with devices acquired, shared, or supported through these relationships. Patterns of ownership, control, and continuity vary across geographies and reflect broader gendered and economic conditions.
Is in the Top 40% by Household Wealth Nationally
67%Partner Works in a Professional or Managerial Role
25%Has Year Long Employment or Livelihood Activity
57%
Access to Device and Consumables
May have had limited early phone access, often through parents or siblings. May receive phones from suitors or husbands even before marriage.
May own a basic smartphone. May borrow phones from family and close friends to meet specific needs, such as a better camera or larger screen for watching films.
May have partial capacity to purchase data and airtime. Likely independently acquires media and distributes it to others, mostly within normatively sanctioned spaces such as neighbourhoods or social gatherings.
How do they learn how to use their phones?
Women build digital capability over time through a combination of early exposure, literacy, and support from others. Facilitators, such as family members, peers, or intermediaries often play a role in shaping how skills are developed and how confidence is built.
Can Read Full Sentences
85%Cannot Read at All
2%Has Secondary and Above Education
70%
Base Capabilities
Likely had limited early exposure to digital. However, may have functional English and Arabic literacy, which may still support some self-directed learning.
Learning Style
Curious and likely to experiment; seeks help for complex tasks but does not require ongoing support for general, offline use.
Learning Needs
Likely needs ongoing support for tasks like blocking numbers and making video calls. Simpler tasks such as sending voice notes and consuming offline media may only need one-off demonstration.
Facilitators
Family members are likely to be primary facilitators. May depend on husbands and other men in the family for relatively advanced tasks, based on the belief that they are more digitally savvy.
What are the challenges they navigate?
Women navigate interruptions in access, limitations in resources, and a range of digital risks. Their use of phones is shaped by social expectations and relationship dynamics, which influence when, how, and how freely they are able to stay connected.
Has Internalised Domestic Violence
15%Participates in Household Decision Making
47%Household has Electricity
80%
Disruptions caused by Financial Shocks, Damage, Degradation and Loss
Disruptions may occur fairly often and lead to reduced quality of use. Borrowing phones may mitigate the worst effects but lowers overall engagement.
Managing Recurring Costs (data, airtime etc.)
Managing recurring costs such as data and airtime is a frequent source of disruption. Data gaps are felt when WhatsApp access is disrupted, and reliance on her husband to purchase data can prolong interruptions.
Charging Cycles
Power sources are often available nearby or at home. When this is not the case, careful battery management is required.
Norms, Control and Coercion
Likely grew up in a less normatively restrictive environment but lacked exposure and resources. After marriage, norms shaped by her husband may be more restrictive, with scrutiny limiting use largely to WhatsApp (where interactions with strangers are less likely) and constraining further exploration.
When husbands are better educated, they may be more open to supporting extended digital use by their wives.
Perception of Risk
May encounter risks on WhatsApp. Awareness of fraud and obscenity can raise fears.
Response to Digital Risk
May stop using apps altogether after encountering threats. May self-restrict certain forms of social media use to avoid male attention. May also self-restrict after encountering obscenity or fearing norm violations. Often extends caution to children. Uses locks and passwords to manage risk.